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See the owners XL350 street bike(vintage
super motard) in the Bike Gallery section.
The XL HONDA
First used by
Honda in 1972 to power a 250cc dual sport
machine, the XL engine has appeared in a variety
of models. With eleven displacement categories
ranging from the miniscule 70 to the mighty
600, the XL models spanned an 18 year period,
ending with the Transalp XL600V last produced in
1990.
Soon after
introduction of the XL250, motorcyclists began
modifying their bikes for competition use. With
few design flaws, the XL 250 and 350cc versions
were wildly popular and proved to be extremely
reliable in a variety of racing venues.
Motocross and
desert (Baja) racers became instant winners. Flat
track racers soon found that with proper
modifications to the 350cc engine they were
regularly winning AMA sponsored events, against
bikes with engines twice the size of the XL based
racers.
XL engines were,
and are still used in motocross, enduros,
observed trials, ice racing events and even in
road racing competition.
But the biggest
winner was the general motorcycling public.
With
tens-of-thousands of units sold in the U.S.
market, Honda may have done more for the
dual-sport movement than any other motorcycle
manufacturer. With the introduction of the 1972
XL250 K0, riders could purchase a machine that
would serve as a commuter bike during the week
and a trail blazing, off-the-road machine on the
weekends.
As owners of XLs
became more proficient in the dirt, their desire
to modify their bikes spawned a whole cottage
industry in performance modifications. Luminaries
like Bill Bell of Long Beach Honda and the folks
at Powroll, C&J, Trackmaster, Cheney,
Champion, Redline, MegaCycle, and many more, all
contributed to the growing XL movement.
The best measure of any product's
success is its longevity in the marketplace. The XL engine
lives on thru today, albeit a variation which was refined
thru 29 years of manufacture. The XR versions are great
modern day bikes; but, the XLs are the classics and that's
why we are here.
XLint Performance.
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